Sutee Nitakorn and the Golf Fanatic
A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to sit down and catch up with one of my favorite golf pros in the Aloha State, Sutee Nitakorn from Ka’anapali. When I first met Sutee, he was the new Assistant Pro, fresh from Cincinnati, Ohio, and I was researching the Ka’anapali chapter of The Golf Fanatic’s Guide to Hawaii. Sutee was nice enough to join me for a round on the Royal Ka’anapali Course. Playing with an actual professional is usually a pretty solid technique for warding off a good game, and this round was no different. But Sutee said two things that stuck with me. First, he showed me how to always escape a fairway bunker (”choke up,” and “move the ball back in your stance”). Then, when I finally pieced a couple of good holes together and hit a tee shot up alongside his, he took a deep breath, looked around and said, “Yeah, just a couple of pro golfers putting in a day at the office.” Of course, I was just a pro writer, not a pro linksman, but I didn’t feel like pointing that out. It was cool to just dig the moment.
Well, since then, Sutee has risen expeditiously, and is now the Head Professional and quasi-D.O.G. at Ka’anapali. He has a local girlfriend, coaches the local high school golf team, and is simply drenched with Aloha.
I caught up to him to discuss some of the recent happenings at Ka’anapali.
Golf Fanatic: You guys had the Big Break here not long ago. What was that experience like?
Sutee: They assigned me as the girls’ escort. I was like, okay, I guess I can do that. I showed up on the first day to pick them up and they were all in their bikinis. I thought, I can do this job.
Golf Fanatic: Were the girls nice?
Sutee: They were great. Sometimes it was a little like 6th grade, though. We had two vans, and as soon as the door closed they would start in on the girls in the other car. But it was kind of cast like that. There was the Girl Next Door, the Goth Girl, the Bully, the Mean Girl, the All-American girl, so the conflict was built in.
Golf Fanatic: I noticed you were caddying in the finals for Sophie, the girl who lost. What was that like?
Sutee: It was crazy. At first it looked like we might win, but Kim was just too strong. Her length off the tee just gave her a huge advantage, and Sophie couldn’t beat that. It all turned out okay, though. Ka’anapali actually sponsors Kim (Kim Welch) on the Duramed Futures Tour. There’s a tournament coming up in Cincinnati, and I’m hoping to go home and catch up with Kim there.
Golf Fanatic: You guys also have the Wendy’s Skins Game on the Champions Tour, right?
Sutee: We do, and it’s a great event. I’ve gotten to meet all these guys, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, and, since I’m from Ohio, meeting Jack Nicklaus was the greatest honor.
Golf Fanatic: What’s Jack like?
Sutee: I’ll always admire him. When he came off #18 there was a mob of people there for autographs and he turned nobody away. He was there a long time.
Golf Fanatic: Any upgrades to Ka’anapali since I last saw you?
Sutee: Honestly, we have the best-conditioned courses in the state right now. All the local pros show up when the weekly skins games are held here. The greens are just so receptive. And the kids on my team let me know that, too. Believe me, if they didn’t like the conditions here, they would tell me. But they tell me we have the best greens, and the best smelling towels after the round.
Golf Fanatic: Sounds like everything’s going great here.
Sutee: Yeah, life is good at Ka’anapali.
-Bryan Fryklund
July 1st, 2009 | Tags: Big Break Kaanapali, Jack Nicklaus, Ka'anapali golf, Kaanapali golf resort, Royal Kaanapali Course, Sutee Nitakorn, Wendy's Skins Game | Category: Golf Chat | Leave a comment
Loading ...